Treasury officials, business owners charged over Sh1.57bn PROFIT fraud

Eleven suspects, including Treasury officials and business owners, have denied 121 charges over an alleged Sh1.57bn fraud involving the IFAD-funded PROFIT programme. [Nancy Gitonga, Standard]

Eleven suspects, including four Treasury officials and business owners, have been charged over an alleged Sh1.57 billion fraud scandal involving the IFAD-funded PROFIT programme

The suspects, including Treasury officials John Ngure Kabutha, Billy Otieno Obango and Nemwel Moturi Motanya, appeared before Magistrate Rose Ndombi on Wednesday, where they denied 121 charges, including abuse of office, unlawful acquisition of public property, acquisition of proceeds of crime and money laundering.

The accused persons present in court for plea taking were Ngure, Moturi, Maina Obango alongside Gladys Juliet Oroni, Brian Kiprop Chepkarat, Ian Kwemoi Chepkarat, O2O Investments Limited, Vidi Vici Investment Limited, Jimmy Carter Odoyo Osodo, James Omwodo Ndai and Jos­phat Kamau Igmau Kamoshe.

Kabutha, who is the PROFIT Programme Coordinator, was separately charged with using his office to improperly confer benefits running into millions of shillings through payments from the programme's Cooperative Bank account.

In one count, he is accused of unlawfully authorising payment of Sh73,812,668 to Gladys Juliet Oroni, alias Gladys Juliet Chepkarat, trading as Mawindo Enterprises.

Another count alleges that Sh41,147,336 was paid to Brigs Agencies, while Sh71,425,999.95 was allegedly paid to Greenbasil Agencies.

Eleven suspects, including Treasury officials and business owners, have denied 121 charges over an alleged Sh1.57bn fraud involving the IFAD-funded PROFIT programme. [Nancy Gitonga, Standard]

The charge sheet further accuses Obango, the PROFIT Project Accountant, of authorising payments to various companies, including Mawindo Enterprises, Brigs Agencies and Greenbasil Agencies.

The charges also include allegations of uttering false documents.

Obango is accused of knowingly and fraudulently uttering a false National Treasury memo to a Kenya Commercial Bank branch manager, purporting it to be a genuine document authored by the Director of Economic Affairs at the National Treasury.

Another charge alleges financial misconduct after Obango allegedly opened KCB account number 1304****17 in the name of PROFIT without lawful authority.

Moturi, identified as Senior Assistant Accountant General at the National Treasury, is accused of irregularly authorising the creation of IFMIS number 40**54 for the KCB account, allegedly leading to a loss of Sh175,300,640.

Maina, a Senior Accountant at the National Treasury, faces a similar abuse-of-office allegation.

However, their co-accused persons were absent from court: Paul Mukasiali Hiaho, Erick Otieno Achila, Miriam Roseline Obinda, Fredrick Nyadhe Obindah, Brown Mujenyi Agade, Laudrups Kenya Limited, Hilda Ndinda Ngava, Kikwetu Holdings Limited, Auma Ritah Tien, Susan Wangari, Charles Cheruiyot, Kaplan Logistics Limited, Blue Dart Agencies Limited, Jackline Kagai Saisi and Jarods Agency Limited.

The prosecution follows their arrest by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission detectives after investigations into the alleged diversion of Sh1,569,582,338.20 meant for small-scale farmers under the IFAD-funded PROFIT programme.

EACC said investigators established that a fraudulent PROFIT bank account had been opened at KCB using falsified authorisation letters purportedly originating from the National Treasury.

The Commission said the entire Sh1.569 billion was disbursed into the irregular account.

"Further investigations revealed that Sh784,732,663.70 was transferred to twenty-three companies, while Sh768,209,574.20 was withdrawn in cash from the Co-operative Bank and KCB Bank accounts. Investigations revealed that the Programme Accountant facilitated fraudulent payments from the National Treasury to the twenty-three companies," the EACC stated.

The bail hearing of the eleven accused persons is currently ongoing before Milimani Law Courts.